Caribbean Stir-Fry?

Last night's dinner was an homage to the tropics. Pineapple & Rum together as one! I will admit, but please don't tell anyone, that this recipe is a Rachel Ray creation. Shhhh. It's a secret.

Pineapple Rum Chicken


To start, cook up some chicken. I seasoned two chicken breasts with "grill seasoning" and some generic season blend. Bold and peppery. Cook the chicken in olive oil until golden brown and cooked through. Remove to a plate and rinse the pan.

The main flavor base starts with onions, garlic and red pepper flakes. For those who are intolerant to spice, please use some red pepper flakes, or you're going to get a mouthful of sweet from the pineapple later. A pinch or two of the pepper will help provide some balance.

A finishing touch will be cilantro and parsley.

Saute the onions, garlic and pepper until translucent. Add the pineapple; then the rum!

Simmer for a bit, then return the chicken-which you've cut into pieces-to the pineapple mixture. Add the cilantro and parsley. Toss to coat.

Serve over steamed rice.

Overall, this was tasty. I'm glad I used a bold seasoning for the chicken, or the dish could have come off as one-note. Instead there was some depth. In my version, I added some grated ginger, which provided some nice aroma and another layer of flavor. A nice alternative for dinner.

Pineapple Rum Chicken
original recipe by Rachel Ray

1 whole pineapple, peeled, cored and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
3 TB Olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup spiced rum
1 TB freshly grated ginger
2 cups chicken stock
4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 TB cilantro, chopped
Salt/Pepper

Season the chicken and saute in 1/2 the olive oil until browned and cooked through. Remove to a plate. Rinse your pan.

Heat the remaining olive oil until shimmering and hot. Add the onions, garlic, pinch of salt and pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions start to become translucent. At that point, add the pineapple and ginger and up to 1/2 cup of reserved pineapple juice. Stir to incorporate. Remove the pan away from the stove and add the rum. Carefully return the pan to the stove. Depending on how much liquid is in the pan before the rum, the pan may flambe! Stir gently and cautiously. Let the liqour cook for one minute. Add the chicken stock and simmer until reduced by half.

While simmering, cut the chicken breasts into slices or 1 inch pieces. Return to the pan with the pineapple and sauce and cook until warmed through. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the parsley and cilantro. Toss. Serve over rice.

Grab Bag

I have some catching up to do. Last week was busy. Tuesday was bookclub, so dinner was at 2 Amy's in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, DC. Great pizza and delicious fried risotto balls. Wednesday I had a staff retreat to attend. Wednesday night I had to prep food for my departments two day staff retreat. Thursday night I got home way late and was exhausted. Friday, same thing, home later than normal and just darned pooped out. Saturday we had a nice dinner at home and Sunday we spent in Baltimore at Honfest. This week should be a little more normal....???? Fingers-crossed.


The full staff retreat included a pot-luck component for lunch, I brought a pineapple & kiwi fruit salad, with ginger-lime syrup. This is super fun, easy and very tasty. Make a simple syrup of water and sugar. Put a few chunks of peeled, smashed ginger root into the syrup while it simmers and the sugar dissolves. When it cools down, add some lime zest and lime juice. Pour over the fruit. The tropical flavors all blend together beautifully for a refreshing dessert.


I think this with Saturday night's dinner. It looks pretty rough, but was fairly tasty. This is a play on the Tequila Turkey Fettucine. I used leftover chicken and pork roast instead of turkey and rum instead of tequila. It was tasty. I'm not going to go out of my way to make it again, but as a leftover dinner, it worked!


When I prepped last weeks menu, there was one special request. Chicken Picatta. I was pleased with the final outcome. First, I only make this with angel hair now. The lemony-buttery sauce seems to play best with the thin pasta. Also, I used shallots instead of garlic. No reason, but I loved the more mild flavor of the shallot. And I went a step further with the chicken. Normally, I just coat the thin chicken breasts with seasoned flour, then fry them. I wanted a more substantial coating this time, so I did the flour/egg/flour combo and received high marks! Good times. I had a few extra chicken breasts and turned one into a delicious sandwich for lunch. Great!

Fried Rice

The other night I made Pineapple Fried Rice for dinner again. Tasty. As I said the first time around, once you take a few minutes to prepare the ingredients, the actually cooking time if very short!


I added bean sprouts this time to add a little more crunch/veg to the mix. But something was off...I don't know what it was, but the dish lacked a little something. It was great! But not as great as the first time around. I'm wondering if I left something out of the recipe? I did notice that I treated the rice a little differently. Last time I spread the rice out on a sheet and put it in a warm oven for a few minutes. This time I just spread it out on the sheet. So maybe the rice was feeling a little too fresh this time around? Maybe I didn't have enough soy sauce?

I was just about finished with cooking and thought this composition looked really great, so I had to snap a photo!

Sweet Treat

What a tasty treat to have after dinner!


Pineapple, Coconut and Mint Sorbet



Here's the what I did to make the sorbet:

Whirled two cups of fresh pineapple (that had been in the freezer for an hour) in the food processor until smooth. Add 1 cup of pineapple juice and 1 cup of coconut milk. Toss in a small handful of chopped mint and the juice of two limes, stir together. Add a wee pinch of salt. Pour into your ice cream/sorbet maker and follow the machine's instructions to finish the sorbet.

Some things I'll do differently next time. 1) Make a simple syrup and infuse that with the mint and lime zest, saving the leaves for garnish, instead of picking them out of my teeth. 2) Maybe add a little more coconut milk, to deepen the coconut flavor. 3) Serve with a shot of my favorite rum and throw a straw in it. This was tasty!